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iPhone 5 Grabs Second Place For Apple, But Samsung Still Enjoys Healthy Lead

The iPhone 5 has helped push Apple into second position in the US mobile market, according to new data released by ComScore.

According to the latest sales statistics, the three months ending in October saw Apple leapfrog LG by claiming a 17.8 percent share of the entire cell phone market in the US. However, Samsung remains a convincing market leader. The Korean firm owns a hefty 27.3 percent slice of the market.

Apple’s 17.8 percent market share is up from 16.3 percent in the prior three months, indicating that the iPhone 5 has set the tills ringing in Apple’s favor. Over the past year, Apple had occupied third place behind LG and at some points even fell to fourth behind Motorola.

Meanwhile, Apple’s rival LG struggled in the three months ending in October, with its share dropping from 18.5 percent to 17.6 percent. Other competitors to Apple also had a difficult time in the same period, with Motorola and HTC hit by small declines.

ComScore compiled its data by surveying more than 30,000 US mobile subscribers.

Part of Apple’s problems — not untypically for the company — have been related to supply and demand issues. While rival Android phones seem to be in plentiful supply, an iPhone 5 can still be difficult to acquire; it was only recently that buyers ordering through Apple’s online store and other outlets saw their waiting times reduced from several weeks.

The table below (via Comscore) reveals the state of play for the five leading cell phone manufacturers in the US: